Chapter 64: The Center of My Heart

Chapter 64: The Center of My Heart

Chapter 64 The Center of My Heart

It was a good thing that the buzz around us increased as we had less than three months left until our comeback.

But why dont I feel happy at all?

They say that one bad word hurts more than ten good ones. I could tell that everyone was trying to hide their feelings, but they looked so down.

What was all our hard work for? It was better to be famous and hated than to be unknown and ignored.

No one agreed with my idealistic argument.

I thought I could handle the hate comments since I experienced them when the rumor about stealing Flosss schedule came out.

Ye-jun, who thought he had a steel mentality, was not in his best condition either.

All I could do was to prepare a special meal for them every day and make sure they ate well.

They were like my brothers, and they always took care of their appetite even when they were depressed.

Yeah, Koreans are all about food.

They took the fruits I cut for them as dessert and went to their rooms, crunching on them.

Im glad they still have their appetite.

It would be a big problem if they lost that too.

Seong-won seemed okay, for now. He had his cat and his own thing going on. Ye-jun was just a bit gloomy, but he was not directly affected by the hate comments, so he didnt suffer much damage.

Seonwoo was the one I worried about the most. He was the type who reacted emotionally even when it was not his business, but he seemed to recover with food.

At least Seong-won, who was the eye of the storm, had his life extended by 20 years.

[- I know its a show and they have to make it dramatic, but this episode was so annoying. Seong-won was such a nuisance and the other members had to clean up after him.]

[- Why is Seong-won so irritating? He has no character and he doesnt fit the group. Theres a reason why no one else does what he does.]

The only consolation was that Seong-won was the type who didnt care what others said. I just hoped his cat was healthy.

Hes fine, right?

He was worried about being a burden to the other members, so he kept his cat mostly in his room.

All I heard was an occasional squeak, beep, or the sound of him running around.

As long as he was happy, that was enough.

The problem was Kyunghwa.

Almost a third of the negative buzz was related to him. They said he was boring, freeloading, clinging to the other members, and that they could see why he didnt make it.

I appreciate your concern, but I dont like it when you all act like this. I wish you would stop worrying about me.

Kyunghwa, who received his 13th snack gift from Seonwoo, declared with a stiff expression.

I know Im getting hate. Im doing my best, so you dont have to be so conscious of me. It makes me more nervous and I cant do anything.

The one I thought was the least problematic turned out to be the eye of the storm. In the end, we had to script the entire third episode of Boys in Crisis and film it.

We made sure to distribute the screen time evenly and aired it, but then more opinions poured in.

[- Theyre obviously giving more time to certain members.]

[- How long are they going to push Ryu Kongi?]

[- I dont care how much they promote him, Im not buying Ryu Kongi.]

They made a fuss whether he appeared or not. At this point, it was not a legitimate complaint from the viewers, but just a sandbag for their boredom.

I was boiling with rage inside, but there was nothing we could do about it.

The company was filtering out the severe personal attacks and slander against our members, but there was a clear limit.

Do they enjoy sucking the blood out of one target?

They seemed to have fun while being angry. Related posts started to appear on SNS.

[- Why are they so interested in the amount of a specific member of another idol group when they are not even Rise fans?]

Why did I pass by there at that time? Why did it rain then? Why didnt I use an umbrella?

The moment I added unnecessary self-blame and worry, I was the only one who suffered the loss of sinking into the swamp.

So it didnt help me at all to feel more pain about why those bastards clung to our kids.

Really? Well, thats good then

Thanks to Sunwoo, I was able to look at the situation with my usual perspective.

I knew this was not a problem that I could solve by myself right away.

Using Yugeons Fate skill might put out the immediate fire, but I still hadnt confirmed how severe the side effects were.

I needed to observe a little more.

I gently stroked Seonwoos head like animal therapy, then pushed myself up from the ground.

I had too many things to do to feel sorry for myself. I received a message from the manager that he would arrive at the dorm in 10 minutes.

Everyone, hurry up and get ready to leave!

We had about 80 days left until our comeback. The music video shooting was waiting for us.

The music video was filmed in three locations. We shot some scenes at the botanical garden, some at a professional studio, and the rest at another studio.

This place used to be a cafe, they said.

Wow I think I saw this on their official Instagram.

The glass greenhouse, emptied of tables and chairs for the shooting, had a mysterious and desolate atmosphere.

Were going to film a scene where you bang on the glass windows. Dont worry about breaking them, well add the effects with CG. Just pretend to shatter them.

Under the directors instructions, everyone snapped to attention and took their positions.

Thankfully, Kyunghwa, who I was most worried about, looked in good shape today. He was the best actor among the five of us, so naturally he had more screen time.

I stepped aside a little to let the staff filming the behind-the-scenes footage capture Kyunghwa better.

Okay, this time were going to spray some water, so focus and lets get it done in one take!

Everyone nodded their heads and moved their bodies to the music that was played for checking the rhythm.

I wondered how I would feel when I finished the last shooting and received the edited version.

The time had come when I had to face it inevitably. Was it the same pressure? Or was it the same pride in myself for making it this far?

It didnt matter either way.

I would do my best in what I had to do now, accept the outcome without regret, and be faithful to what lay ahead.

I shouldnt suffer because of something I couldnt change.

I sneaked a glance at Kyunghwa, who was moving along with the choreography. He acted calmly as if nothing was wrong, but he couldnt be fine inside.

He had chosen to put on a thick shell and lock himself in, so all I could do was hope that he would endure it firmly.

I said I didnt care what happened to those bastards as long as I got my revenge. But I guess Im too soft-hearted for my own good.

I clicked my tongue lightly and cleared my mind, forcing a smile.

Hey, Ise. This is a serious scene. You cant smile like that!

The directors angry voice interrupted my brief distraction.

Pay attention to your facial expressions!

Yes!

I unwittingly made the whole set laugh by trying to act normal.

Kyunghwa also laughed, shaking his shoulders. Well, Im glad I gave them a good laugh.

Thats how the hot summer was passing by.

Which meant

The shooting day for Star Discovery, which I had promised Seong-won like a carrot, was approaching.